Demba Ba talks China, Chelsea & a possible Premier League return?

Former Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham striker Demba Ba has admitted he could have returned to the Premier League last summer. Ba who has 99 Premier League appearances and 43 goals, instead left Turkish side Besiktas for Shanghai Shenhua, joining the influx of foreign players in the Chinese Super League.

"I was very close to a return last summer and I was very close not to leave Chelsea for Besiktas (in 2014). I have to say I miss the Premier League."

Unfinished business?

"I wouldn't say it's unfinished business, I try to watch it on TV because it's the league I love the most, if one day I come back it's because I want to have fun and I want to continue to enjoy my football like all the years I did in England."

March sees the start of the Chinese Super League and Ba's second season at Shanghai Shenhua. He joined after scoring 27 goals in 44 games for Besiktas, and is enjoying life on a new continent:

"I want to travel and see the world and I get the opportunity to do this while I'm playing football. We the foreigners make this Chinese league look better, but who (is) going to make it look more better, the Chinese players on the pitch, the academies and the federation have to build things for the Chinese players to grow up at a young age."

Ba played alongside former Everton player Tim Cahill last season, he's since departed for another Chinese team, Hangzhou Greentown, with ex-Newcastle and Nigeria striker Obafemi Martins now arriving in Shanghai. However it seems three moves in January really made the rest of the world take note - Liverpool target Alex Teixeira signed for Jiangsu Suning for an Asian record £38 million fee with other big money arrivals in China including Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid and Chelsea midfielder Ramires.

Ba says Chinese clubs have to spend excessively to compete with Europe's top clubs:

"I haven't been surprised because I've been here a couple of months and financially they have no problem buying anyone they want to buy on earth, so that's a big point.

"They want to make China one of the top leagues and it's going to take time, years and years. I don't think as long as i'm alive, i don't think we'll see the Chinese league above the English league."

Ba left Chelsea in 2014 after 18 months, scoring 14 goals in 51 games.
Two of his most memorable goals came against Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool respectively in April 2014. In the Champions League he scored with three minutes remaining at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea beat Paris St Germain 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals on away goals. And then also in April he effectively ended the Merseyside team’s title hopes by taking advantage of Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip.

He still keeps in touch with some of his former team mates including Eden Hazard and admits it was tough to see them struggle early in the season:

"Some of the criticism at (Jose) Mourinho and the players is sometimes not fair because we are not there to see day in day out what they are doing in training. Speaking to Eden he told me 'it's just not going in like it did last season'. Seeing these people criticise them and Eden and they know the player he was before, it's difficult, but they are going to come back from it, Chelsea is strong."

Ba's former manager Jose Mourinho has been heavily linked with a return to the Premier League with Manchester United and Ba says Mourinho would be ready to change, he thinks, to suit the needs of another club:

"He's probably one of the most intelligent coaches I meet in my life and if he has to change certain things in the way he's managing to make himself look good, make his team look good then he's going to do it because he's a very intelligent guy, so he's going to comeback, no doubt."

Ba was born in Paris to African migrants hasn't been first choice for Senegal in recent months and was omitted from the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015 in 2015.

"I feel African but sometimes you see the way people manage, it's difficult, the most important thing is to see my country Senegal succeed bringing a trophy to the country, I would love to be part of it, more than I would love winning the Premier League or Champions League, is winning something with my country.

"I don't know if it's going to happen, but lately it's been much different, we just have to wait and see how it goes."